| Lakitu & Spinies | |
|---|---|
| File:Lakitu NSMBU.png File:MarioSymbol.png Official artwork of Lakitu from New Super Mario Bros. U. | |
| Universe | Mario |
| Debut | Super Mario Bros. (1985) |
| Smash Bros. appearances | SSB Melee Brawl |
| Most recent appearance | Mario Golf: World Tour (2014) |
| Console of origin | Nintendo Entertainment System |
| Species | Koopa |
| Articles on Super Mario Wiki | Lakitu Spiny |
Lakitu, known in the Japanese version as Jugem (ジュゲム, Jugemu), is a character in the Mario series of video games from Nintendo. He is typically depicted as a turtle-like creature (a Koopa in Mario terms) with a green shell, orange or yellow body, and thick, black glasses; throwing Spinies, spiky-shelled koopas. He usually rides in a cloud with a smiling face (known as Jugem's Cloud). In the Mario series, Mario can ride this cloud for a short period of time after stomping on Lakitu, as long as the cloud is not destroyed with him. The name Lakitu is also used for an entire species of Koopas, most of whom fly about in this fashion.
Lakitu is one of the few Mario enemies to have appeared in the series from the beginning. This puts Lakitu into the same pantheon as foes such as Goombas, Koopa Troopas, Bullet Bills and Piranha Plants. However, unlike most of these other enemy characters, Lakitu has not changed a great deal from one game to the next.
In his role as an enemy character, Lakitu typically flies about and throws spiked eggs at Mario, although variant types employ other attack patterns. Lakitu appears in a number of games as a figure neutral to Mario. Lakitu features in a handful of non-Mario games and media such as comic books and animated cartoons.
In the Super Smash Bros. series, Spinies always appear in their 8-bit forms, as seen in Super Mario Bros. for the NES. They cannot be killed by jumping on them, as this damages/kills Mario.
In Super Smash Bros.
A Fishin' Lakitu appears in the background of the Peach's Castle stage. His design is based on his appearance in Super Mario 64, complete with the camera on the end of the fishing rod.
In Super Smash Bros. Melee
8-bit Lakitus and Spinies appear in the background of Mushroom Kingdom, while a Fishin' Lakitu appears in the background of Yoshi's Island.
As a Trophy
Lakitu also appears as a trophy in Melee.
- Trophy Description
These airborne menaces used to ride their clouds exclusively as Bowser's henchmen. They typically hover just out of Mario's reach and hurl Spinies with irritating precision. More recently, however, they've been known to take on less evil tasks, such as doing camera work for sports events and even helping Mario on his quests.
In Super Smash Bros. Brawl
In Brawl, a Lakitu appears from an Assist Trophy. He drops Spinies from the sky, which wander around and damage opponents upon touch. If the character is hit by a Spiny while airborne, they will be meteor smashed. Lakitu can be KO'd, which will prevent any additional Spinies from appearing. However, this can be hard, as reaching him can prove difficult, and hitting him correctly is also difficult. If he holds an egg, it could damage the player if he/she strike him. Sometimes it takes two hits to make Lakitu fall.
The Spinies thrown walk back and forth, damaging all players who touch them. They can be devastating, but are slow and easy to avoid. If Lakitu is KO'd, the spinies will still remain on-screen, walking around until they all fall off the stage or automatically disappear.
Despite being invunerable, the Spinies have hitboxes. This is likely so that Lakitu can use a Spiny as a shield to avoid taking a hit from a character.
Glitch
When Lakitu is defeated, he'll fall while upside down. A glitch however, can cause Lakitu to be stuck in midair when defeated.
Assist Trophy Origin
Lakitu and Spinies made their first appearance in Super Mario Bros.. The Lakitu would follow the player from above on a cloud and throw Spinies at him. It's also possible to get high enough in certain levels to where one can defeat Lakitu by jumping on him. Lakitus also appeared in later Mario games and does the same thing. Lakitu and the Spinies's 8-bit appearence in Brawl is a reference to how they're designed in Super Mario Bros.
Trophy Info
A particularly stubborn breed of Koopa. Lakitus chase Mario aboard clouds and attack by throwing Spiny Eggs down from above. More recently, Lakitus have taken over the role of cameramen, filming with cameras that they dangle from long rods. Spinies are Koopa creatures with tough, spiked shells. Jumping onto them has no effect, but fireballs can dispatch them.
- Super Mario Bros. (1985)
- Super Mario 64 (1996)
In Super Smash Bros. 4
Lakitus and Spinies appear in the 3DS-exclusive mode called Smash Run. In it, the two aforementioned enemies can be destroyed, leaving power-ups behind.
